Josh Herrin beats Marc Marquez: as elbow-drag record holder

Josh Herrin has set a new record. For some years now it has been absolutely normal to see riders lean their bikes over on the track to the point of scraping their elbows on the ground, so much so that over the years all leathers manufacturers have been forced to insert real elbow sliders similar to those on their knees. The increase in grip available on the tyres and also a riding technique that is increasingly aimed at leaning so far off the bike has led to the massive use of this technique even by decent track enthusiasts.

Everyone has seen the images of Marc Marquez who manages to save the front of his bike by leveraging with his elbow, yet no one had ever reached the limit set by Herrin who can now boast of being the best 'elbow drag man' on two wheels . The idea came to the rider in partnership with his sponsor Fresh n’ Lean, and it took little persuasion to see what sort of feat could be achieved by Herrin, who had set out to challenge the best in the specialty.

Certainly the fact that there was no previous record to beat actually played in his favour, which made it necessary to bring in Guinness World Records, that is the body that 'certifies' this kind of thing and which in this case established the rules of the game to be able to enter this record in their own books. The bar was set very high, because Herrin was required to drag his elbow on the ground for a minimum distance of 30 meters and at a speed of over 160 km/h.

To set the record, Herrin decided to use a Yamaha R6 and he took advantage of the Buttonwillow Raceway, which features a curve with a wide and constant enough radius to allow him to attempt an attack on the record. During the first two attempts, Herrin was unable to exceed the set speed, stopping just below 160 km/h. The American succeeded in the feat only on the third attempt, also establishing a top speed of 162 km/h by dragging his elbow on the track for over 31 meters. Now the limit has been set and it will be curious to find out who will try to overcome it and above all with what speed and distance.